Chapter 41 - Holy Land Terror Incident (1)
Chapter 41 - Holy Land Terror Incident (1)
The day before the Saintess Investiture Ceremony arrived.
I was preparing to congratulate Azelia on her investiture as Saintess and play Cupid for the Prince.
But...
Slurp-
"Ho ho, how is it? Sir Edric, is the Church's tea to your liking?"
"... Yes, Your Holiness. It is very fragrant."
I had been dragged here by the Pope and was drinking tea with him.
Where did it all go wrong?
The white-haired Pope, Gregorius IX.
He was a man who had spent his entire life studying noble scriptures and the miracles of legends.
He had a dream. It was to see a Saintess and a Saint.
He grew up listening to stories of the 'Advent of the Saintess and the Saint' while sitting on his parents' laps as a child, and naturally, he came to yearn for them.
The existence of the Saintess and the Saint, who demonstrate the reason why God exists in this world.
It didn't matter if he couldn't become a Saint himself. He wanted to see them and hear the voice of God.
He had endured for over 80 years with that single dream, and now, that dream was about to come true right before his eyes.
'After a hundred years of waiting, a Saintess has appeared, and now a Saint without Stigmata stands by her side.'
Excited at the prospect of potentially seeing both the Saintess and the Saint at the same time, the Pope was giddy, unbecoming of his age.
Ultimately unable to suppress his curiosity, he invited Edric to his quarters, which led to the current situation.
"Sir Edric, have you ever seen God in your dreams?"
"... Pardon?"
Why is this old man suddenly asking me about God?
The Pope's sudden question caused my brain to momentarily freeze.
No matter how benevolent his face looked, he was still the Pope.
He was the pinnacle of the Church, a being even the Imperial Family couldn't treat lightly, so I broke into a cold sweat and answered his question cautiously.
"God has never descended into my dreams. However... I feel that God is by my side at every moment."
"Ho ho, why do you think that?"
The Pope's eyes, looking at me, began to twinkle and shine.
Well, obviously, because there's no other explanation for me possessing this body other than it being a prank by God.
...I want to tell the truth, but that would cause big trouble. I offered the answer that the Pope would love, which I had learned while dealing with countless religious figures in my past life.
"Because I believe so. To believe even without seeing—that is the essence of faith I have learned."
Gregorius IX did not possess powers like the Saintess.
He simply possessed the insight to pierce through the 'truth of the soul' after meeting tens of thousands of believers over several decades.
To him, Edric's answer was rough and unpolished, but it contained a strangely confident 'truth'.
He was definitely believing in the existence of God. Even more so than the Saintess who possessed the Stigmata.
What kind of experience did such a young man have to be so certain of God's existence?
The Pope began to get even more curious about Edric. Just as he was about to converse with Edric more...
BOOM-!
"Hm?"
"What was that sound?"
A loud impact sound and an ominous vibration rang out from outside.
At that moment, the door to the Pope's inn burst open, and a Church knight entered, looking pale.
"Your Holiness!"
"Calm yourself. What is the matter?"
"That is... dozens, no, hundreds of monsters are pouring into the Sanctuary."
"What!?"
"What did you say!!?"
Just as Edric and the Pope heard the shocking news, the fallen nobles were not far from the Sanctuary.
They were watching countless monsters pour out of the created dungeon.
"There is no turning back now."
The item the fallen nobles used was the 'Skull of Agon'.
It was the very magical artifact they had intended to use during the Northern terror incident.
Dozens, hundreds of monsters poured out of the dungeon.
They were hungry and began to sniff around for prey.
Hungry. Hungry. Want to eat. Want to eat.
Struggling to satisfy such simple desires, the monsters found their prey.
"Kuaaack!!!"
"Kieeeek!!"
They smelled the humans gathered in the Sanctuary.
The rest happened in an instant. The monsters began to rush toward the Sanctuary, one after another.
"Go, monsters! Devour them all!!"
Watching the scene, Kahel burst into a maniacal laugh.
The monsters, spewing endlessly from the dungeon, charged toward the Sanctuary.
Kahel and the fallen nobles also followed behind them, their eyes gleaming with the corruption of the Dead King's power.
"Monsters are swarming in!"
"It is the Prince's order! Protect the believers!!"
The Sanctuary instantly turned into a scene of chaos.
To protect the believers from the swarming monsters, the Jeriel Knights stepped forward first, shielding the people from the monsters' claws.
"Your Holiness, what shall we do?"
"The believers who have come here are all our brothers and sisters. We must protect them."
"Yes! We will follow your orders."
Thus, following the Pope's command, the Church's main force of knights also headed to the front lines to block the monsters.
As all the knights sortied, Edric felt a sinister vibe.
"Your Holiness, the escort force is too thin right now. The main camp where the Prince is located is safer. Let's move together!"
"Yes, that would be good... Let us do that."
I escorted the Pope and moved toward the quarters where the Prince was, along with the few remaining guards.
If something happens to the Pope's safety while I'm with him, it's going to be a real headache.
Praying that nothing would happen, I moved toward the Prince... but I felt a foul, pungent stench of poison growing stronger.
This is fucking ominous...
Just then, as we were passing through an area with old temples, black shadows sprang out from inside the temple buildings.
Clang-!
"Cough!"
"Kuaaaargh!!!"
The masked bastards instantly cut down the Pope's direct bodyguards.
I instinctively blocked the Pope's front and shouted.
"Th-these bastards!?"
"Who are you! How dare you target His Holiness the Pope in the Sanctuary!"
The bastards, wrapped in black cloaks, didn't even show their faces clearly.
They just pulled a dagger from their robes. A strange crest was engraved on the dagger.
"That is... the crest of the Dead King!?"
The Dead King? Are these Dead King worshippers again!?
The group in black cloaks slowly approached me, as I was flustered.
Damn it... Could their target be the Pope! My luck is absolute shit!
"Dead King worshippers... are you trying to take the life of His Holiness the Pope!"
"Ke... Kehahahaha!!!!"
At my words, the black-cloaked bastards started laughing like crazy.
What is it? Was what I said that funny?
"Think whatever you want. That seems more fitting for revenge."
The one who seemed to be the leader of the black-cloaked group said, pulling out a dagger.
As if there was no value in talking anymore, he swung the Dagger of the King of Death and attacked me.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
"Ho..."
"Ughhhh!!!"
I immediately summoned the sword 'Eos' that Nataliya had bought for me from my bracelet and fought back.
As a few exchanges passed, the bastard's dagger lightly grazed my shoulder.
Slash-!
"Ugh!"
The moment it grazed me, I felt a burning pain in my shoulder.
This pain... from my perspective as a poison sommelier, it was definitely poison!
Ugh! These cowardly bastards, using poison so despicably during a fight!
"Hahaha! It's over! The Dead King's poison cannot be cured by any healing magic! Die in the pain of your whole body being paralyzed and melting away!"
The black-cloaked bastard shouted that at me.
Uh... the Dead King's poison?
I recalled the memory of the holy water I had investigated before.
That the Holy Water of the Sun, which kills Dead King worshippers, can also cure the Dead King's poison.
I immediately thought back to when I fought the snake monster and created the holy water I made back then.
Whoosh-
"Wh-what is that?"
"Th-this!?"
Seeing that light, the Pope was extremely surprised, and I could feel that the black-cloaked bastards were extremely flustered.
I activated the skill <The Bird That Drinks Poison> and forged pure white holy water on my palm.
And poured it onto the wound.
Sssss-!
"Kuaaaargh!!"
Along with the holy light, the black poison was instantly purified, and the wound healed as if it had been washed away.
The problem was that it hurt like hell.
And the Pope, who was watching that dazzling radiance of healing from the side, had his jaw dropped.
'... To forge such pure holy water without Stigmata, without prayer... Was he truly a Saint sent by God!?'
Having somehow recovered, I raised my sword again.
Since I had cured the Dead King-whatever's poison, I could feel he was very flustered.
"Y-you monster of a guy!!!"
The bastard signaled to the other black cloaks around him.
Then, about 5 other black cloaks also pulled out their daggers and slowly approached me and the Pope.
This is 6 vs 2... no, wait, I have to exclude the old Pope, so is it 6 vs 1?
The bastards were slowly approaching me.
Am I supposed to fight 6 on 1 like this!?
These cowardly bastards! Just as I was about to think, "Let's fight fair and square," a silver arrow flew from behind me and embedded itself in a black cloak's head.
Thwip-! Thwip!
"Ack!"
"Kuaaaargh!!!"
"Who goes there!!!"
Looking back, there was Cardinal Raul and people who looked like his subordinates.
But their Church attire was a bit unusual. If it's a Church organization that uses the moon crest... could it be the Heresy Inquisition!?
Why is that crazy group that beats up heretics here?
"Are you alright, Your Holiness?"
"I am fine thanks to Sir Edric."
"That is a relief. Thank you, Sir Edric."
"Ah... it is nothing, Cardinal Raul."
Cardinal Raul's gaze was absolutely murderous.
He slowly stepped in front of me. And...
"How dare the dregs of the Dead King try to assassinate His Holiness the Pope in the holy Sanctuary!"
With a low, sunken voice, Cardinal Raul threw off his glasses.
At some point, twin swords emitting holy light were held in both his hands.
This was the true form of Raul as the head of the Heresy Inquisition.
At Raul's words, Kahel, the fallen noble, shouted.
"I don't care about the Pope! My goal is only Ed..."
"Shut your mouth, you worm-like bastard."
Cardinal Raul shouted, cutting him off.
Agents of the Heresy Inquisition began to follow one by one behind him.
The numbers were now 6 vs 6, an equal number had gathered.
Cardinal Raul crossed his twin swords into a cross and shouted.
"Do you think I will listen to the nonsense of you bastards who tried to disgrace His Holiness the Pope by using monsters in the holy Sanctuary! You bastards will crumble and die like straw. Amen!"
Cardinal Raul, exuding fanatical faith, rushed toward the fallen nobles like a storm.
The battle between Cardinal Raul and the Heresy Inquisition was nothing short of a massacre.
Thwack-! Thwack! Crunch-!
"Sp... spare me..."
"There is no mercy for Dead King worshippers!"
"We are not Dead King worshippers..."
"The words of a Dead King worshipper are not even worth listening to!!"
The fallen nobles had enhanced bodies and daggers, but they died futilely to Cardinal Raul's twin swords and the Heresy Inquisition's bows.
Edric stared blankly at that overwhelming display of martial prowess and quietly put 'Eos' back into his bracelet.
'... Wow, this is no joke. I should just watch.'
I stood comfortably next to the Pope and started to enjoy the spectacle of the Cardinal unilaterally 'purifying' (physically) the fallen nobles.
As expected, the Church in fiction was a fucking scary place.